welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. >> we are going to go there and try to minimize the suffering of the syrian people. >> heading to geneva. the key players hoping to reach common ground on syria's civil war. take two cold snap and heavy snow slowing down the northwest and northeast. and looking at a couple facing jail time for sending their daughter to an out of district school.

♪ delegates are arriving in swizer lan for peace talks aimed attending syria's civil war. those talks almost derailed after the un secretary general invited iran to the talks. iranian officials say the un's move is a mistake. >> translator: we are disappointed about two things. one that mr. bankky moon withdrew his own invitation due to the pressure imposed on him. >> i have a kind of mixed feelings. we are going to go there to try to minimize the suffering of the syrian people. this is the most important thing, i think to do.

>> for the latest we go to james bayes. >> reporter: in the coming hours important preliminary meetings before the full sessions get underway. ban ki-moon, will be meeting with john kerry and sergei lavrov. more than 40 nations, of course not iran because the invitation to them was withdrawn, they are trying to get everyone on the same page. get the international community saying we support this peace process, the idea of a transitional government to take over the running of syria. then those negotiations will start here in the building behind me. the start on friday, around the table to syrian delegations. one representing the syrian

government, one representing the syrian opposition. the problem is this, they are supposed to come up with a transitional government with members of both sides. that's the aim of this whole process. the problem is, that on the assad side they say that government must be lead by president assad, and have his key lieutenants, his key security commanders in that government. on the other side, the opposition side, they say that transitional government must not have president assad involved and none of those around him. that's the key strumabling point and what they will be working on in the coming days, possibly the coming weeks that these negotiations roll on for. >> james bayes in geneva. chris christie is set to

attend his inauguration for his second term now. the question is will the scandals oversomehow the speech? >> no question. but the better question is he going to mention the scandals, and i don't think so. they sent me over a list of some of the talking points and i have them there, and there is no motion of the scandals. but he does talk about -- this is so typical christy. it is all about bipartisanism. he is talking about what new jersey people want, a good job, a good education for the children and safe streets. and here is the bipartisan stuff, he says we cannot fall victim to the attitude in d.c. where compromise is a dirty word. that's classic christie.

>> but we're not talking about another chicken in every pot, instead we are talking about another scandal and in this one which one is it. >> karl lewis said he was phoned up by christie and said don't run for the senate race in 2011. so that's the latest. that's on top of the bridge, on top of the new jersey -- the new -- they call it jersey city mayor, now the hoboken mayor, plus the investigation into the advertisement regards hurricane sandy. so it's all mounting up for governor chris christie and today political opponents have been taking pops at him ever since this started. now the weather is against him. and the big party they had tonight at ellis island has been canceled and the food is going to be given to a food bank.

>> sometimes you can't catch a break. talking about that weather a winter storm bearing down to everybody from new jersey to new england. emergency employees and telecom muters are expected to go to work. here in new york they are bracing for another bout of bad weather. and here is the latest. >> reporter: take a look at temperatures across the area. in new york city at 21, but that will plummet down to about 9 degrees. we're tracking our latest area of low-pressure, and the wind and snow going to continue to be a problem across portions of the plains, the wind major player out there today across the north

central plains in chicago. down towards indianapolis we're up to 32 and the snow will continue to fall and look at temperatures plummeting. only at 11 degrees below right now. back towards omaha at minus one. that snow will continue to come down across i-80. back to you dell. >> thank you very much. in about an hour opening ceremonies set to begin at the world economic forum. a gathering of political and financial power players takes place every year in switzerland. a survey finding that climate change and water shortages will be talked about. a reminder ali velshi is there, talking to some of the most important people in business and finance. you can see his reports throughout the day and on his

show "real money with ali velshi." it airs at 7:00 right here on al jazeera america. and russia is on high alert looking for female suicide bombers. there is a massive manhunt underway for a woman being called the black widow. alan has more. >> reporter: police are looking for female suicide bombers and have released information about one in particular. she is 23 years old, and linked to a terror group seeking an independent islamic homeland russia. that group has targeted russian authorities and threatened to attack the winter games. a poster has been sent out now. the u.s. olympic authority says they are working with the state

department and with local law enforcement doing what they can to ensure the safety of americans travelling to the game. she is the widow of another member who was killed in a shootout with russian forces. she has a scarred left cheek, a limp, and a stiff left arm. she may have arrived in sochi as much as ten days ago. 40,000 police forces are now deployed in the area, with the opening ceremony of the winter games just 17 days out. meanwhile, there will be two naval vessels on standby in the black sea. russian's foreign minister, warning the protests in ukraine are now getting out of control. for the second clashes

elevating. police violently beating some demonstrators thousands rallying in defy answer of new laws. in the democratic republican of kong go un forces backing forces. >> reporter: almost everyone that lives in the village in eastern congo has fled in fear. the group was once popular. they brought business and trade, but things have changed. only this woman remains here. she comes home briefly to break calm nuts. >> my granddaughter was raped by

a rebel fighter in the forest, so we left for another village. we came back, and then they kidnapped her along with our neighbor. >> reporter: in the last year the adf have been responsible for a number of killings. they shot this man in july when they attacked his town and he refused to leave. but now the government forces are moving in. the adf originally came from neighboring uganda. the re -- rebelian began in 1995. they fought the army but were defeated. since 2004 they have been based in the congo. even walking through it is difficult, this thick cover is what makes it easy for the rebels to hyde and attack the government forces when they come

in. but that's not the only benefit of being in the for res trees like this one can be worth hundreds even thousands of dollars in timber. but with the cooperation of business people and some go officials both here and across the border in neighbor states. and as long as they have a flow of cash it will be difficult to defeat them. now this mayor is clearly on the government side. >> translator: at the moment the army is coming to attack. if the army surrounds them it is difficult to move around. >> reporter: but the government groups still seem to be well

supplied and determined to fight for their survival. files of chicago priests accused of sex abuse are now being made public. they are being released as part of a settlement with victims. attorneys saying the papers will show how accused priests were moved from parish to parish to cover up the abuse. >> reporter: president obama is set to meet with pope francis in march. the meeting comes towards the end of a european trip in which the president will travel to the netherlands, bell gum and italy. coming up risking your freedom so your child will have a better education. >> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the

tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america

♪ an egyptian court has set a start date for one of the many trials for ousted president mohammed morsi. morsi is charged with conspiracy, he and other top muslim brotherhood leaders facing a number of charges. it has been nearly a month since our al jazeera correspondent, peter ogburn and two producers were jailed in egypt. they are accused of harming state security and joining a terrorist group.

today today's -- today his parents joined a call for his release. >> reporter: what keeps peter doing the job that he is doing is his very strong sense of social justice, the need to seek the truth, and to always do whatever can be done to help those in need. >> as well as to let the world know to get it out there, so things can change. >> reporter: though peter has worked internationally since the 1990s, he was raised in brisbane where his parents still live. on tuesday his parents were in front of the media to raise awareness and call passionately for the egyptian authorities to

release their son and his colleagues. >> until he gets out this nightmare is going to continue. >> reporter: all sections of the australian media were at the press conference. in australia peter's polite is big news. >> we live in a democracy where you have to be charged to be held. he has been held without charge and some of the allegations that have been raised against him are unimaginable. >> reporter: they have been allowed to speak to peter just three times since his arrest. they are proud of his son, but mixed with the pride is profound concern. they echo the calls of the australian government, al jazeera, and journalists around the world. peter and his colleagues were doing a legitimate job in a

legitimate way. they should be released thousand. who other journalists from our sister network have been in prison for five months now. al jazeera continues to demand all five men be released. ♪ wall street struggling as a short week of trading begins. the dow down 113 points, and as you can see things are not looking up. today's winter storm and cold weather. ohio's governor declaring an emergency, and 17 other states are also taking steps to help truckers get propane to customers. it is called boundary hopping. parents lying about where they live so their kids can go to special kids.

>> we got handcuffed like a criminal -- >> a leather belt -- >> we went to jail. >> reporter: these woe were married in 1998. in 2011 they were having marital issues. mom moved in with her father in a nearby county their daughter enrolled in kindergarten. they then reconciled but decided to let the daughter finish the school year. >> the school district contacted us in april, and said there is a problem with your residency. so we came in to meet with the

principal. >> and what happened? >> she kept insisting that i never lived there, and she is turning, you know, us to the police. >> reporter: the superintendent wouldn't talk to us, but she made good on her threat and turned the case over to police. the garcias turned themselves in. the trial is set for next week. the district attorney aledge the garcias stole $10,000 from the country. the price of one year's tuition at the school. there would be an argument from a school that say the people in the community pay for this school in this county, so you are not from here, you don't get to attend. >> first of all my wife did live there -- >> my father is a taxpayer who owns a house there. >> if you live in philadelphia

because you don't have the money to live in montgomery county. that's not your fault. >> reporter: the assistant da canceled an interview with us. but the garcias think they are a test case. >> this is to make sure that everybody in philadelphia knows this can happen to you. >> it's an interesting phase you used to cross the border. we're talking about philly not canada. >> yeah, there is a line where they don't want people to cross. >> that is soledad o'brien reporting. coming up tonight, part of our series on education. we take a look at the rising popularity of home schooling, and whether teaching your child at home is as effective as sending them to school. a library without any books. next on al jazeera america, a texas library that is all digital.

>> all this week, >> the strength of our future relies on education. >> it's a parental right to say this is the way i'm gonna homeschool my child. >> home schooling, or no schooling, part of our weekl long, in depth series. america tonight only on al jazeera america we saw people who need clean water, who are in these u.n.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines today. world leaders including un leader ban ki moon are arriving in geneva today. and new jersey governor chris christie set to take the oath of office today. christie's inauguration being overshadowed by several controversial scandals. some 2500 leaders of business and politics today arriving in swezerland. imagine walking into a library and not seeing a single book? that's the goal in san antonio. heidi zhou castro gives us a

tour. >> reporter: it's a library without books where instead of hushes from the librarian, the walls talk. it's 12-year-old [ inaudible ]'s favorite place to go after school. >> they don't have books, books. they really just have digital ipad books, they got. >> reporter: his family is among the 13,000 people who signed up for library cards here since it opened in south side san antonio you last september. the area is 88% economically disadvantaged. 17% of the population lacks basic reading skills. >> there are a lot of families that don't have access to wi-fy or even computers in their home. >> reporter: the new library has 20,000 ebook titles. >> but they are also good for

those adults who may have difficulty with reading or maybe of a lower reading level because the devices will actually read to you. >> reporter: this is a nursing assistant and mother of three, like more than a third of adults in this area, she never graduated from high school. >> now that my daughter is in middle school, a lot of the words i couldn't understand. >> reporter: she says now her reading level has jumped from 5th grade to 9th since discovering the library. the staffs says an electronic library has operational benefits. without having to store paper books they can perform the functions of a traditional library at a third of the size and third of the cost. but what is to keep these expensive ereaders from walking

out the door and never going back? first of all there is no internet access. secondly all of the content disappears through the two week-loan term. making them useless until they are turned back in. >> reporter: this is the brain child of the county judge. >> the more than people read the better off we'll be in this country, so we want to expand that as much as possible. >> reporter: this nook is the new satellite unit for a captive audience. 93 people on jury duty signed up on the first day as it scrolls to the next chapter of good old fashioned reading in the new age. this, if you can make it out, is actually new york city. the city right now bracing for up to a foot of snow. all up and down the eastern seaboard they are buying milk,

shovels and bread. how much snow are we looking at? >> you said it up to a foot of snow here in new york city. we're going to have to continue to deal with the snow across the area. it will be a very cold day as well because of this cold air rushing in out of canada. right now we're looking at snow from our nation's capitol towards baltimore, back across west virginia. snow is dying down across the midwest, where we have seen reports of up to 6 inches of snow in some locations. the heaviest snow now making its way across pennsylvania into the i-95 corridor. very splipry travel so be careful if you're out there. blowing drifting snow also. and if you are travelling out of laguardia, jfk, newark, i think you're in for delays. right now here is a look at our snowfall totals map, what we're

expecting today. we can see up to a foot of snow in the areas in the darker blue. in the white area we can see from 3 to 6 inches of snow. boston we could see anywhere from 4 to 6 inches. so a very slippery day along i-95. visibilities will also be diminished quite a bit. temperatures already beginning to plummet. take a look at toronto, minus 2 right now. cleveland at 15. and 25 in philadelphia. winds are gusting quite a bit right now across kansas city down towards tulsa, and back into indianapolis where we have had reports of up to two to three inches of snow. it's much colder across the north central plains and midwest, minus 11 right now in minneapolis. and looking at more snow along i-94 in north dakota. be careful out there on the

roadways and stay with us throughout the day, because we will be sure to keep you updated. >> thank you very much. and thank you for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "inside story" is next. and check us out 24 hours aday just by going to aljazeera.com. >> on the day americans pause to honor the memory of martin luther king, the world is boiling over with religious oppression and strife. the world hot spots, and that's the "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. if you would like to spend a few depressing moments on k